Riverdene graduate scores on debut

Wind And The Lion put Riverdene Stud back on the map as a nursery of 2-year-old winners when winning on debut at Belmont in Perth last Saturday.

A son of Written By, the talented juvenile was sent to post the $2.80 favourite and sported the familiar colours of the Daly family to victory, running out a three-plus lengths winner of the 1000m contest.

Wind And The Lion was bred, raised, grazed and sold by Riverdene Stud at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale were he fetched $62,500. He was then re-traded at the Magic Millions 2YOs in Training Sale where he was secured by Hancock Quality Bloodstock for $200,000.

The colours Wind And The Lion now carries are synonymous with racing in Western Australian through George and Wally Daly. The brothers have been rarely been without a notable performer, one of the most notable being the Group 1 Memsie Stakes winner Vega Magic.

Wind And The Lion’s maiden success came on the same weekend as the latest win of Full Credit in Hong Kong. Also raised and grazed on Riverdene, the son of former resident stallion Va Pensiero was bred by Warwick Farm-based trainer Jason Coyle and has now won three of his six starts for Mark Newnham this season.

Riverdene Stud’s best known 2-year-old perfomer to date is Concealer, winner of the 2015 VRC Ottawa S. (Gr.3) on debut and a placegetter in the MRC Blue Diamond Prelude (f) (Gr.2) that same juvenile season. The daughter of Nicconi then trained on to win the SAJC Manihi Classic (LR) in the 2017/18.